Missing Puzzle Pieces

After working day and night for hours and hours on a puzzle you adore and plan on framing, as you near the end of your quest, you find a piece is missing. After frantic, multiple searches, you have to accept that the piece is gone. What do you do now? Do you disassemble the puzzle and throw it in the trash?  Do you put it back in the box and store it in hope that the piece might reappear later? Or do you frame the puzzle so everyone can see the missing piece?  

Some people will continue just in case the missing piece turns up, some will give up if one piece is missing, and others will have a personal limit to how many missing pieces they will tolerate before quitting. Some people don’t mind if an edge piece is missing. Some people don't feel they have completed a puzzle if pieces are missing, so they create pieces to fill the gaps.

Missing pieces are a common occurrence in puzzling, and they can ruin your puzzling experience, but there are things you can do to alleviate the problem.

Ways Pieces Come Up Missing

• Accidental Misplacement: You can misplace puzzle pieces without realizing it. You might set a piece on the puzzle while working and not notice it lying there, and accidentally knock it off the table. If you’re assembling a puzzle in a busy area, the chances of losing a piece increase.

• Pet or Child Interference: Pets and kids are the nemesis of puzzles. If you have pets or small children, it’s easier to keep the puzzle out of their reach than to try to keep them away from the puzzle. Use a puzzle mat that you can roll up, or use a heavy blanket to cover everything when you’re not working on it.

• Environmental Factors: A strong breeze from an open window can scatter pieces across the room. Poor lighting can lead to pieces being overlooked. To minimize these risks, choose a well-lit area for your puzzle away from open windows.

• Human Error. It’s easy to overlook pieces when you’re sorting or assembling a puzzle. Here are ways you can avoid these mistakes:

  • • • Double-Check. Look for stray pieces before discarding anything.

      • Stay Organized. Keep your puzzle pieces well-organized while working. 

      • Take Breaks. Periodic breaks can help you stay sharp and avoid mistakes.

• Insufficient Storage. Poor storage practices can lead to missing pieces. Pieces can fall out of an unsealed box, they can get stuck in corners, or even slip through gaps in storage containers.

• Vaccums: Vaccums will find missing pieces before you even know they are missing, so keep a careful lookout while vaccuming, and maybe search the vacuum basket after use for stray pieces. 

• • Manufacturing Malfunction. Sometimes the piece was never in a new box. It happens, and sometimes you find someone else's missing piece in your box.

  • Puzzle Poltergeists: They are sneaky little devils. They come out at night and hide pieces; sometimes they eat them.

Ways To Alleviate Missing Pieces

• Choose a Low-Traffic Area Work Space. Try to puzzle in a quiet, pet-free, and kid-free area. Avoid places like kitchen tables or shared areas where puzzle pieces might get misplaced by daily movement. A clutter-free environment makes it easier to keep track of all the pieces.

• Use a Specialized Puzzle Surface. Use a puzzle mat, board, or table with raised edges to help contain the pieces. Puzzle mats allow you to roll up your puzzle mid-progress, puzzle boards add a solid structure in addition to portability, and puzzle tables offer storage and a solid structure, but they lack portability. Using these items helps prevent pieces from falling or being brushed away accidentally.

• Sort and Organize Before You Start. Before beginning assembly, sort your pieces. Separate the edge pieces from the inner pieces, and group the pieces by color, pattern, or shape to keep things organized. You can use sorting trays or small containers to prevent pieces from scattering. An organized work area makes it easier to spot if a piece goes missing.

• Cover the Puzzle When Not in Use. When you're not working on your puzzle, cover it with a cardboard, newspaper, a towel, etc. to keep pieces from getting knocked off the table or carried away by pets or kids.

• Use Barriers. To prevent missing or damaged pieces, keep puzzles out of reach of pets and children. Use baby gates or barriers, or work in a room with a door that can be closed.

• Check After You Move. If you’re moving a puzzle or switching spaces, do a quick sweep of the area; look under furniture, between cushions, and on the floor nearby and along your route. Puzzle pieces can easily cling to clothing or hide in folds of fabric.

• Pauses in Assembly. If you plan to pause your puzzle assembly for a time, store loose pieces in labeled containers to reduce the risk of misplacing pieces or having them mixed up with other puzzles or games.

Final Thoughts

If the piece cannot be found and you feel you must have it, there are ways to replace it. See Replacement Pieces for details.